The 'Downton Abbey' star opened up about her husband's sobriety in an interview with 'Harper's Bazaar UK.'
Kit Harington is several years into his sobriety now, and in that time, his wife, Rose Leslie, learned a lot about herself, but mostly about understanding and coping with her husband's struggles with addiction to alcohol.
The 35-year-old actress spoke with Harper's Bazaar UK for its June cover story and opened up about how her Game of Thrones co-star and husband has come to terms with being a recovering alcoholic.
"For Kit, being an addict, it's very important for him to recognize himself as such," she told the magazine while also recognizing the incredible support circle he's established for himself outside of friends and family. "The AA [Alcoholics Anonymous] community has provided such a loving space for him to feel heard, to make sure he's not alone. But if it weren't for rehab, he would be in a very different headspace right now."
Back in August, Harington revealed in an interview with The Sunday Times about the "traumatic" things that were happening during and after filming the hit HBO series, including depression and alcoholism. "I went through some pretty horrible stuff," he said at the time. "Things that have happened to me since Thrones ended, and that were happening during Thrones, were of a pretty traumatic nature and they did include alcohol."
Leslie also opened up about what she's learned from AA and the lifelong challenge that lies ahead with being married to someone who is a recovering alcoholic.
"I've learnt a lot about addiction and it's something Kit is forever going to be aware of, but it's on him whether he chooses to drink again," she said. "No amount of nannying is going to be able to stop him from doing what he decides to do... I don't choose to put that pressure on myself. The responsibility of his behavior is on him. It's not on me to guard him from it."
Leslie and Harington welcomed their first child together a little over a year ago, and when it comes to fatherhood, Leslie couldn't be prouder of her husband's dad skills.
"He wore the Baby Björn loud and proud," Leslie said. "And there were many satisfying moments; we had an understanding that, when our son cried in the middle of the night, it was on Kit to go and look after him, as I would have to wake up early to work -- it was kind of glorious."
Less than six months after becoming a father, Harington told ET about how fatherhood changed his life.
"It has definitely softened a part of me," Harington admitted. "It has also taught me to look outwards a bit. I think all actors have a tendency of being egocentric and being self-obsessed, because our art and work is a projection and part of ourselves. Having a kid changes that somewhat. At the end of the day you are like, 'I have this child to get back to.'"
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